Related

Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby has provided the federal government with a legal opinion supporting public cries for Canada to stop serving as a transshipment destination for the trade in meat from endangered whales between Iceland and Japan.

Responding directly to a Vancouver Sun story, Ruby says in the letter that Ottawa has the power to stop shipments of “endangered whale meat” under existing federal legislation — the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (1992).

The act (WAPPRIITA) is meant to prevent Canada from becoming a country of convenience for trade in illegal wildlife, he says, adding “Canada is not obligated to permit whale meat to pass through its borders.”

Written on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Feb. 25 letter comes as Greenpeace has obtained more than 8,000 signatures on an online petition demanding the Canadian government “stop whale meat trade through our ports.”

Sarah King, oceans campaign coordinator for Greenpeace, said CN Rail, Port Metro Vancouver and the Halifax Port Authority have also been asked not to accept any future shipments of whale meat.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority last June issued a statement urging European shipping companies and terminal operators to stop transporting whale meat due to “social and political objections.” The shipping line Samskip said it would comply. And last July Evergreen Line in Germany returned six refrigerated containers of whale meat it said were labelled as frozen fish.

The Sun on Feb. 13 published a story revealing that endangered fin whales killed by Iceland had been transshipped through Canada en route to Japan, another whaling nation.

The story followed a Greenpeace statement about Iceland shipping 12 containers of whale meat to Halifax, where they were sent across Canada by rail to Metro Vancouver to be trans-shipped to Japan.

Canada said at the time it is helpless to stop the trade, even though it is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which in 1981 listed the fin and other endangered whales under Appendix 1 — the highest level of protection against commercial trade.

Iceland and Japan are also signatories to the convention but did not agree to the 1981 listing. As a result, Canada says the trade in whale meat between the two nations is legal, even when using Canada as a trans-shipment destination.

“When two countries do so, like Iceland and Japan have for fin whale, Canada has to allow shipments under customs control to transit provided they meet normal documentation and other requirements,” Environment Canada said in a statement.

Canada did inspect the whale meat under the authority of WAPPRIITA and even conducted DNA samples to confirm it was correctly labelled, and then sent it on its way.

Ruby argues in response that WAPPRIITA trumps CITES in this case and that Environment Canada “has the power to prevent the shipment of whale meat from entering Canada without a permit,” even if the product is being transshipped.

Sheryl Fink, director of Canadian wildlife campaigns for IFAW, said in an interview she hopes that Ruby’s letter makes the Canadian government reconsider its position on the whale meat issue, one that clearly repulses Canadians.

“Canada is being viewed as an easy route for trade in endangered species and that is something that I would hope our government would want to shut down,” she said.

Ruby sent his legal opinion to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, and Bruce Archibald, president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Aglukkaq, who did not immediately respond, represents Nunavut, where the eating of whale meat is commonplace. Canada’s federal fisheries department reports about 500 narwhal, 800 beluga and three bowhead whales are killed annually in the Canadian Arctic. Unlike the commercial Icelandic hunt, however, whales are a subsistence hunt in the Arctic.

“Everyone recognizes the difference between consumption of wildlife, be it seals or whales, for subsistence, for food, and a large-scale commercial whaling operation to send endangered species to the … markets of Japan,” said Fink.

On Feb. 13, Baird attended the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade and announced $2 million in emergency funding to combat wildlife trafficking in Eastern Africa. He refused to speak with The Sun on why Canada was protecting the elephant and rhinoceros in Africa and not acting to stop the trade in endangered whale meat in Canada.

Just as there is opposition in Canada to the annual seal kill, Icelanders are not unified behind the killing of whales. The Icelandic Tourism Association has issued a statement saying it supports nature tourism and whale watching and that continued whaling and the export of whale meat only harm Iceland’s image.

Iceland suspended the killing of fin whales in 2011 after the Japan earthquake and nuclear accident; the hunt resumed in the 2013 with 134 animals taken. The U.S. government has protested the nation’s actions, saying there are undermining global conservation efforts.

Fin whales are globally rated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In Canada, they are officially a threatened species, listed under the federal Species At Risk Act.

The fin whale is the second largest creature on Earth after the blue whale. Fin whales reach physical maturity at 25 years of age, and range in size from 20 to 27 metres, and 60 to 80 tonnes, according to the federal fisheries department.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Ottawa pressured to stop trans-shipments of whale meat

Video

Today's Headline Videos

Best of Postmedia

To steel himself for the year-long journey that began Wednesday, Jonathan Pitre has been going over the hard calculus that underpins his decision to pursue a high-risk, high-reward treatment in Minnesota

When he woke up in tears the morning after he had cried himself to sleep, Rohit Saxena knew what he had to do. Leaving his wife, Lesley, asleep in bed, Rohit went downstairs, opened his laptop and began to write. “They say your kids are your hearts outside your body,” he wrote. “I’ll always be […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.